Cloth shifting lever for cloth laying machines



Oct. 28, 1941. H. F.' MEYER 2,260,394.

CLOTH SHIFTING LEVER FOR CLOTH LAYING MACHINES Filed Sept, '7, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 28, 1941. MEYER 2,260,394

CLOTH SHIFTING LEVER FOR CLOTH LAYING MACHINES Filed Sept. '7, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 28, 1941 oilo'rn S'HIAFTING LEVERFORCLOTH I LAYING MACHINES Henry'F. Meyer, St. Louis, Mo.v I Application September 7, 1940, serial nt.;;,55;m 2 Claims. (01. 270 -31 ,This invention relates to improvements ina cloth shifting lever for cloth laying machines, it isused'to guide the cloth as it is being spread and piled up on the cloth supporting table so that'theedge of each layer of the'pile will register evenly one upon the other, thus,when the pile of clothis completed, the edge of 'thepile willbe'true and even all the way up.

The essential feature of the invention is, to

provide a lever positioned in proper position in the cloth laying machine, over which the cloth passes while being spread and piled on the table, and as the machine is being directed from one end of the table to the other, the layer of cloth being spread and piled on top of the other layers already layed and piled is controlled by the manipulation of the lever so that its edge will register perfectly and evenly with the edges of the layers so piled below.

This lever is manipulated by the operator during the movement of the machine upon the table, and its handle is conveniently located so that access thereto may be had at all times during the travel of the machine from one end of the table back to the otherencl, and so on back and forth until the height of the pile is desired.

It is very essential, that the layers of cloth constituting the pile, have their edges register evenly, that is, one directly on top of the other, this is necessary on account of the patterning the pile for cutting. Should the edges partly overlap, there would be a certain amount of waste material caused by such overlap, which is considered of vital importance in the manufacturing of garments, as waste is an important item in the manufacturing art on account of the high cost of the materials used in the manufacturing of certain garments.

This lever as designed is an improved attachment to the cloth laying machine on which a patent was granted to Charles C. Schneider, June 11, 1940, Number 2,203,970, which Letters Patent is now under control of the National Cloth- Spreader Machine Company, of which applicant is a member.

Another object of the invention is the general arrangement, construction and combination of elements as will be hereinafter fully described and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cloth laying and spreading machine showing my improved shifting lever carried thereby.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of. the 5 machine carriage, showing the location and position of my shifting lever.

. Figure 3 is a cross sectional View of the machine frame. as. takemon the line 3.3 of Figure,

2,'and"viwin'g'-the. same in the direction of. ,the arrow.

. Figure {is adeta il, cross sectional-lview; taken on the 'line '4'4 of Figure '2 showing the con,- struction of the shifting lever handle, and view ing the same in the direction as indicated by the arrow.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the cloth spreading machine frame or carriage, showing the shifting lever in relative position with the cloth to be layed.

Figure 6 is a detail top plan view of the shifting lever, showing its shifting positions.

In the general construction of my improved invention, I provide a lever mechanism positioned in the cloth laying and spreading machine carriage, which mechanism consists of a suitable shaft 1 on which is mounted a suitable roller 8, each end provided with a flange 9 and over this roller and between the flanges the cloth is adapted to pass during the laying process. 1 The shaft 1 is pivoted or swiveled at its one end in a suitable socket [0 formed and located on one side of the carriage and so arranged that the lever shaft may be shifted in positions as that shown by dotted lines, see Figure 6.

On the opposite projecting end II of the shaft 1 is positioned alatch grip handle [2 provided with suitable lips I 3 through which a pivot is passed for retaining the grip handle in operative position, and between the handle l2 and the shaft is positioned a spring I 4 which normally keeps the two suitably spread. On the handle is formed a, latch dog I 5 which is designed to engage between the teeth or cogs I 6 formedon a plate or integral with a part of the carriage frame.

When it is desired to manipulate or shift the lever, the rod and handle is gripped by the hand and squeezed together compressing the spring consequently disengaging the latch dog Hi from the teeth [6 of the rack, by so doing the operator can move the lever in any suitable direction, either backward or forward as that shown by dotted lines in Figure 6. By this action it places a certain tension on the cloth which will direct the edge of the cloth either inwardly or outwardly While it is being layed upon the table. Consequently the operator through the manipulation of the lever can keep the edges of the layers even and without any overlappage or un- The shaft of the roller 2| is provided with a I bevel pinion 24 which meshes'with abevel gear, 25 attached to a shaft 26, one on each side of'the' roller shaft, this shaft is in the nature of a screw contacting with a guide block 21 forraising and lowering the spreading mechanism, and regulating' it as the pile becomes higher and being built up to the desired height required.

This feature, however, is not a part of this information. f g e l 'l heiessential feature of the invention is the shifting lever mechanism, themanner' of its position with the cloth, and its mode "of operation for .the directing. the cloth so that its edge will properly register with "the player of cloth already llayed on thetable; Y

ni vention," it was only referred to as a matter of Some and other changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the invention above set forth without departing from the real. spirit and purpose thereof; and it is my intention to cover by the following claims any modified form of structure or use of equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim: 1. A cloth shifting lever for cloth laying machines comprising a lever mechanism operating in combination with a cloth laying machine, said lever comprising a roller, a shaft supporting the a same, said shaft pivotally mounted at one end to the machine frame, a handle on the free end for manipulating the lever, and a latching means for locking the shaft when in horizontal adjusted position. I I

, 2. A cloth shifting lever of the character described comprising a lever pivotally connected to a machine" frame, said lever consisting of a shaft,

a rollerlmounted thereon, a handlepositioned on the'fre'iend of thefs haft, a latch means carried byfthe handle which is to engage with teethi' formed on the machine frame, said roller conta'cting with the cloth to be layed as it passes through the machine, and by the manipulation, of said roller theposition of the clothfon the pile;

is regulated so that its edges register evenly., I HENRY MEYER. 

